String
by friend2alex
Summary: Playing out in the clearing Yagi meets one of the servants of Kirishiki, Tatsumi and plays Cat's Cradle with him. [One shot]


**Hello, hello. This is my first time posting for Shiki. This one-shot features my Oc for Shiki: Koide/Yuuki Yagi. No, she isn't related to Natsuno, but she was adopted. Her profile can be found on my multi-oc rp blog on tumblr: soulsofdreams. I may or may not write more for these two. If I do I will change this one-shot to a chapter fanfic. And now enjoy the one-shot.**

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String

There sat a girl on a tree stump no older than 15 or 14. Her fingers intertwined with a red string that tied together on both ends. Bit by bit the string entangled around her fingers with grace until it made the intended product. The shape of the moon. Yagi had only picked up playing string figure game a year ago. The same time when her family had decided to move. Both her and Natsuno had no say even though they weren't happy about the decision to move out in the country. There wasn't anything fun that they could do. That was why she took up playing this game. In-between breaks from studying that is. As she unraveled the red string off her fingers a twig snapped not far from her.

"Who's there?" she asked yanked away from her concentrated trance. Curious just who could be around here. As far as she knew no one came to this clearing. As odd as it was. The clearing was at least a 30 minute walk away from her house. In the middle of the clearing a stump remained. She could tell it was the work of humans. It was a clean-cut done by some sort of tool. Time to time she would wondered why cut this single tree in the middle of the clearing? A young man who looked about in his early twenties appeared before her. His blue hair was intriguing but what was even more intriguing was how his hair styled. Shaped like dog ears. His clothes were pretty normal compared to his hair. He wore a white and black polo button up shirt and blue jeans.

"Ya, what are you doing out here all on your own?" he asked her. His yellow eyes gave off a friendly vibe and he wore a friendly smile. Try as she might she couldn't conjure up a face she had seen within this village matching his features. There was only a handful of people she got acquainted within the village. So, she wasn't sure if he was a villager she hadn't yet acquainted.

"Are you from Kanemasa?" she questioned. From some of her classmates they gossiped that Kanemasa people have finally moved in. It wasn't a great way to ask but, she was a bit flustered and defaulted to that gossip. However, her uncertainties answered with a simple nod and she sighed in relief. She wondered what was he doing out here. There wasn't anything special around here other than this clearing. Well, it didn't matter to her much. A sudden thought popped into her head. She didn't do it always but, when she meet someone new she wanted to play Cat's Cradle with them.

"I'm here practicing. String figure game ever since I came here I have been hooked. Oh can you play Cat's cradle with me? It's been a while since I played it. Or are you in a hurry?" she asked him hoping he would say yes. Last time she played it, it was with her brother a few weeks back. She wanted to ask him again but, didn't want to pester him and held it in. There weren't many people she could ask either. Yet, she wanted to play so much. It held so much meaning to her and that much important.

Tatsumi came here to make a mental map of the woods around here. That's when he came across this girl. Quite odd she was out her on her own with no one else around. Then again she was out in the country the only kind of danger she needed to watch out for were wild dogs. Kidnapping was out of question. He also wasn't in any hurry and figured there was no harm in indulging with this girl and play pleasantries.

"I see no harm and I have enough time on my hands to spare a few minutes with you. Um..." he trailed away unsure how should he address her. Yagi realized and her cheeks flushed a pink tint. How could she have forgotten to introduce herself. She was so excited that she found a potential partner for Cat's Cradle.

"Oh I'm so sorry. It's Koide...um well Yuuki or Koide Yagi. Actually just called me Yagi. My last name is well confusing," she said her green eyes shifted from left to right. Now she remembered why. It was because of her last name. It was confusing. She wondered why her parents have to put such a burden on her brother. They weren't horrible, but as parents they weren't good at it. She couldn't say their views weren't a burden. It was just that her brother also shared the same burden with her. Such a thing made her quite upset. Their burden on her didn't mean much to her because she's adopted. So long as her brother was alright she didn't care about her own self.

"Ya, that is quite complicated. Nice to meet you Yagi. I'm Tatsumi," he introduced himself and felt small sympathy for her.

"Well then Tatsumi. I sure hope you're familiar with Cat's Cradle. Well if not we can go slowly," she said and before she waved for him to sit across from her, she moved to make space. She then began the set up into the first step of Cat's Cradle. Once it was ready she held out her hand intertwined within the loops of the red string.

"Alright now it's your turn. Now take your thumb and index finger and pinch the X-shaped part," she instructed using her free thumb and pointed. Surprisingly they went on for a while. Each time they successfully passed on to the other. Some strange reason it made her so happy. As good things come they also go. Somewhere along the game one of them made a mistake and they couldn't go on anymore. For the umpteenth time a strange feeling raised within her. This one was like feeling sad. Like she didn't want it to end.

"Oh, we played much longer then I thought we would. I need to get going. It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance," he said and before he stood up she grabbed his wrist. Wondered what did she want. "Yes?"

Again a strange feeling came over her the moment she heard him leaving. She panicked and unknowingly grabbed his wrist. Immediately let's go and twiddled with her fingers.

"Um well uh before you leave. I just wanted to tell you that um well. The game Cat's Cradle is a very important game to me. I don't always offer it to every new person I meet. Just the ones that I feel a connection with. I felt that connection with you and um. Cat's Cradle is a game where you need another person to play. Never mind the one with the one person Cat's Cradle. I like to think of Cat's Cradle like how bonds are made between people. Those bonds don't remain the same but change with each exchange. It's even more meaningful when more people play. Because when it comes back to the original player it isn't what they started with. That's why Cat's Cradle is dear to me. I want to create and hope to change those bonds with friends over time," she finished and breathed because she didn't take a breath.

Tatsumi wasn't sure how to respond to that. It was deep. She look no younger than 15 or so. Turned a simple game like Cat's Cradle to hold a deep meaning like that. He wondered what she would think when she found out about his real self. Either way she could be possibly amusing from time to time.


End file.
